In her first World Championship, U.S. National All-Around runner up Shilese Jones is racking up the hardware, adding a silver medal to her collection, which already includes a team gold. Jones looked calm and confident out on the floor, saving some of her best performances in Liverpool for this moment. She posted an All-Around score of 55.399 and can walk away knowing she left it all out on the competition floor.
“I’m speechless, so speechless,” Jones said. “I’ve been training for this for so long now. I’m just super proud and super stoked!”
With her every step of the way was her father, who passed in December 2021. Jones has credited him for motivating her to return to Elite competition and push for Paris 2024.
“I was thinking about him all day,” Jones said. “No matter what the score was or the placement, I was driven through it by my thoughts of him.”
Jessica Gadirova continued the history-making for Great Britain in Liverpool, bringing home the All-Around bronze medal (55.199) just two days after her team won the silver medal – both firsts for her country. The way Gadirova lit up the arena with her superb tumbling and exquisite dance, the resulting roar from the home crowd, the excitement as she realized her dreams were coming true – these are moments we’ll soon not forget! And in the end, no one had more fun out on the floor tonight than she did.
“All I thought about was to get to my feet and whatever happens, happens,” Gadirova said. “I thought I did the best performance I could and with that score my jaw dropped. I was so shocked by it.”
